The workweek wrapped up with the Expedition 68 crew engaged on botany and physics {hardware} aboard the Worldwide Area Station. Spacesuit upkeep remains to be continuing because the astronauts and cosmonauts proceed making ready for extra spacewalks earlier than the top of the yr.
Rising recent meals off the Earth is a key mission goal as NASA and its worldwide companions plan longer human missions to the Moon, Mars, and past. NASA Flight Engineer Josh Cassada spent all day on Friday configuring {hardware} and putting in parts on the Veggie house botany facility situated within the Columbus laboratory module. Quickly the plant progress unit will host a small crop of dwarf tomatoes rising for the Veg-05 examine investigating methods to keep up a steady fresh-food manufacturing system in house.
NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio was working within the Microgravity Science Glovebox on the finish of the day exchanging samples for a fluid physics examine. The investigation explores the coarsening and coalescence of foams in weightlessness with potential functions for the firefighting, petroleum, and drugs industries amongst others.
Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Company (JAXA) took turns with Rubio on Friday accumulating blood and urine samples, processing them, then stowing them in science freezers for later examination. Wakata additionally cleaned and serviced parts contained in the Electrostatic Levitation Furnace, an experimental facility that allows protected analysis of excessive temperature physics above 2,000 levels Celsius.
A number of extra spacewalks are scheduled earlier than the top of the yr. The primary is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 14, and a second for Dec. 19. Each spacewalks might be broadcast reside on NASA TV, on the company’s app and web site.
NASA Flight Engineer Nicole Mann was again on spacesuit obligation on Friday eradicating and changing life help parts contained in the Extravehicular Mobility Models, or EMUs. She later eliminated a small satellite tv for pc deployer from contained in the Kibo laboratory module’s airlock.
Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin partnered as soon as once more checking their Orlan spacesuits for leaks and reviewing procedures for the Dec. 14 spacewalk. The duo additionally took turns figuring out on the station’s train bike whereas hooked up to sensors for a health analysis. Flight Engineer Anna Kikina wrapped up her week transferring water and repressurizing nitrogen from the docked ISS Progress 82 resupply ship to tanks aboard the house station.
Study extra about station actions by following the house station weblog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, in addition to the ISS Fb and ISS Instagram accounts.
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